Pancham Line/XY
Pancham is available only on Route 5, in both tall grass and purple flowers, though it is more common in the latter. Dark/Fighting was already an excellent combo in Gen V, and even with Gen VI giving it an Achilles Heel in the form of Fairy-types it still proves its worth. Put that on a 'mon with a high amount of Attack and HP and you got a good thing going. The one main drawback Pangoro experiences is its low Speed; most of its bad matchups are a result of being outsped by pretty near everything; still, its durability often allows it to endure and hit back - hard. Important Matchups * Tierno (Route 5): Corphish is not too threatening to start, but still take it out quickly before it has a chance to build up Swords Dances. Whether with Karate Chop or Arm Thrust doesn't make much difference; just note that Iron Fist specimens cannot crit due to Shell Armor. * Tierno and Trevor (Route 7, tag battle with rival): Bulldoze will deal with Pikachu easily. If you'd rather target the Corphish, STAB is preferred. Either way, pull Pancham out of there once Flabebe shows up. * Gym #2 - Grant (Cyllage City, Rock-type): Amaura's double Fighting weakness makes it an easy target, though a slower Pancham will have to use either OHKO with Karate Chop or use Bulldoze + STAB as it would otherwise be 2HKOed by Take Down. Tyrunt's pretty susceptible to STAB as well, and Pancham should be victorious as long as it doesn't get pinned down by excessive flinching. * Korrina (Geosenge Town, Fighting-type): Spam STAB and don't let up for a moment; you don't want to give them time to build up Attack. * Rival (Tower of Mastery): For obvious reasons Pancham should not fight Meowstic. STAB is effective for Absol, though it should be holding an Eviolite in case of Slash crits. Pancham WILL need the Eviolite to fight Braixen and should make liberal use of Bulldoze. Frogadier is not hard, though Payback is actually the best option here; Quilladin is the same way. * Gym #3 - Korrina (Shalour City, Fighting-type): Teach Pancham/goro Aerial Ace. With it, either can beat Mienfoo or Machoke, though Pancham will need the Eviolite if it's facing the latter. Neither of them can handle Hawlucha though, and Pangoro specifically will die from a single Flying Press. * Rival (Coumarine City): Pancham should continue avoiding Meowstic, but Pangoro can take it out with a Payback. Absol falls to STAB; note that Pancham will want an Eviolite for crit protection. The starters are unchanged as far as Pancham is concerned; for Pangoro users Braixen is a joke, Payback is most effective for Frogadier and Quilladin can be beaten with Aerial Ace or Poison Jab. * Gym #4 - Ramos (Coumarine City, Grass-type): Jumpluff's Acrobatics make it too dangerous for either Pancham or Pangoro. Weepinbell can be Aerial Aced to death; it's actually more dangerous to Pangoro due to its increased weight making it more susceptible to Grass Knot. For this same reason, Pangoro can't battle Gogoat but Pancham can, albeit with a specific combo: holding an Eviolite and using Power-Up Punch followed by two Aerial Aces or Poison Jabs. * Aliana (Kalos Power Plant): Her Mightyena's only attack is Assurance. Piece of cake. * Gym #5 - Clemont (Lumiose City, Electric-type): Payback is effective against Emolga, mind Volt Switch and Static though. Bulldoze (not Dig, the Speed drop is vital) the Magneton; Iron Fist specimens will need two hits due to Sturdy. A single Low Sweep will fell Heliolisk. * Rival (Route 14): Take Meowstic out with Payback and Absol with Low Sweep. Delphox will go down to Payback, Greninja to STAB and Chesnaught to Aerial Ace. * Gym #6 - Valerie (Laverre City, Fairy-type): Mawile's attacks are both Dark-type, allowing Pangoro to wail on it with Power-Up Punch (to help get around the Iron Defenses) until it dies. Then get Pangoro out, because it can't deal with Dazzling Gleams. * Celosia and Bryony (Poké Ball Factory, tag battle with rival): Neither are that hard, each scoring a 5HKO with Spark/Thunder Fang (Manectric) or Slash (Liepard). Pummel Liepard with STAB and Manectric with Payback/Dig (Bulldoze is not advised due to the double battle power drop), in either order. * Mable (Frost Cavern): Pangoro smashes Houndoom with a Hammer Arm OHKO, who can only manage a mere 4HKO with Fire Fang. * Rival (Anistar City): Crunch/Payback the Meowstic. Drop a Hammer Arm on Absol. Bulldoze will work for Jolteon; Payback and Hammer Arm are actually stronger but it's a 2HKO regardless. Same goes for Flareon. Iron Fist specimens can Hammer Arm Vaporeon to death directly, but Mold Breakers will have to use Power-Up Punch + Hammer Arm. Delphox will fall to one Payback/Crunch. Likewise, Greninja is defeated by one use of Hammer Arm. The one thing Pangoro can't handle is Chesnaught, who two-shots with Brick Break. * Gym #7 - Olympia (Anistar City, Psychic-type): One Payback knocks out Sigilyph, but don't leave in Pangoro if it gets flinched. Crunch is better for Slowking, who can do little damage, though Pangoro might end up asleep from Yawn afterward. The "ace" Meowstic is the easiest of the bunch, with a resisted Shadow Ball as its only attack after Fake Out; clean its clock with some Dark STAB. * Lysandre battle #1 (Lysandre Labs): Better avoid that Mienfoo and its deadly High Jump Kick. Hammer Arm has a good chance (or certain chance for Iron Fist specimens) of one-shotting Murkrow; be warned that its Aerial Ace has a slight chance of 2HKOing should you fail to one-shot it. Pyroar gets OHKOed by Hammer Arm regardless of Pangoro's ability. Gyarados is no good; Intimidate drops Pangoro to a 3HKO at best with Payback which the faster Gyarados can match with Aqua Tail. * Aliana (Lysandre Labs): Mightyena falls quickly to Hammer Arm antics. It's also pretty effective against Druddigon, though if Pangoro can't pull off a 2HKO it needs to heal or retreat. * Celosia (Lysandre Labs): Bulldoze Manectric; while Payback and Hammer Arm are stronger all three are 2HKOs and Bulldoze won't trigger Static. Bulldoze is also recommended for Drapion; you'll need to gain the Speed advantage to be able to three-shot it first. Beware of Acupressure, though. * Bryony (Lysandre Labs): A pair of Dark types? Easy. Just smash them with Hammer Arm. * Mable (Lysandre Labs): See Bryony. * Xerosic (Lysandre Labs): Crobat is too dangerous with its Air Slash. Malamar's not possible either; Pangoro would have to one-shot it which it can't do after Superpower buffs its Defense, even with X-Scissor. * Lysandre battle #2 (Team Flare Secret HQ): Mienshao will straight up murder Pangoro with High Jump Kick. Low Sweep + Hammer Arm or two Rock Tombs(for the Speed advantage) will work for Honchkrow; beware the imperfect accuracy of this strategy as Pangoro can't afford to miss. Crush Pyroar with Hammer Arm. Gyarados is still no good. * Xerneas (Team Flare Secret HQ, X only): THIS IS THE WORST IDEA IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. * Yveltal (Team Flare Secret HQ, Y only): Not as blatantly terrible an idea, but still. Legendary Flying type. That's bad. * Lysandre battle #3 (Team Flare Secret HQ): Mienshao, Honchkrow and Pyroar have not changed. Gyarados is still too mighty even with the new vulnerability provided by its Dark typing. * Professor Sycamore (Couriway Town): Pangoro can't fight Venusaur as it 2HKOs with Petal Dance while Pangoro is unable to one-shot it. Pangoro can try for a OHKO with Rock Tomb against Charizard but should not stay in if it survives. Iron Fist Pangoros should be able to beat Blastoise with Hammer Arm; Mold Breakers can try but are unlikely to pull it off, and one use of Iron Defense by Blastoise will ruin Pangoro's chances regardless. * Shauna (Route 19): Pangoro will survive Delcatty's Play Rough and answer back with a Hammer Arm OHKO. Two Paybacks will defeat Goodra. Greninja will be slaughtered by Hammer Arm. Chesnaught's only viable if Pangoro's faster and has Aerial Ace; even then it will have to beware of Spiky Shield. Delphox is wrecked by Payback. * Tierno (Route 19): Pangoro can try to one-shot Talonflame with Rock Tomb but should retreat if it fails. Roserade hits too hard with Petal Dance. Hammer Arm OHKOs Crawdaunt, possibly even before it has a chance to act. * Trevor (Route 19): Bulldoze will two-shot Raichu who can only three-shot with Thunderbolt; an Iron Fist Pangoro might be able to OHKO it with Hammer Arm, though it's not a sure thing and risks setting off Static. Aerodactyl's Sky Drop is too problematic. Florges's Moonblast destroys Pangoro. * Gym #8 - Wulfric (Snowbelle City, Ice-type): Pangoro can cruise through Abomasnow and Cryogonal with Hammer Arm effortlessly. If a Mold Breaker Pangoro wants to take on Avalugg it'll need to use one of his previous Pokemon to boost Attack (preferably Cryogonal as there's a chance of one-shotting it with Power-Up Punch). Iron Fist specimens can just Hammer away without the stat boost. * Rival (Victory Road): Pangoro tanks Meowstic's Disarming Voice and responds with a lethal Payback. Altaria is going to be hitting too hard with Dazzling Gleam. Hammer Arm crushes Absol. Hammer Arm, Payback and Bulldoze are all effective against Jolteon. Flareon's the same way, with the added choice of using Rock Slide. Iron Fist Pangoro can two-shot Vaporeon with Hammer Arm; Mold Breakers can try but are not guaranteed. Delphox is defeated by one Payback. Hammer Arm crushes Greninja. Like with Shauna, Chesnaught will require a faster Pangoro with Aerial Ace, but at least this one doesn't have Spiky Shield. * Elite Four Wikstrom (Pokémon League, Ironworks Chamber, Steel-type): Klefki will OHKO Pangoro with Dazzling Gleam. Hammer Arm hits Probopass hard, one-shotting if Pangoro's a Mold Breaker; Iron Fist specimens will need a follow-up move. Iron Fist Pangoros can simply Hammer Arm Scizor twice; Mold Breakers will need to already have an Attack boost coming into the fight. If you can land a Payback or Crunch on Blade Forme Aegislash it'll go down in one hit; just be aware of King's Shield and that Sacred Sword will take off a large chunk of Pangoro's health. * Elite Four Malva (Pokémon League, Blazing Chamber, Fire-type): One Hammer Arm will knock out Pyroar. Use Earthquake against Torkoal; even Curse won't be enough to save it. Only Payback will do against Chandelure; it needs to be one-shotted to keep from dying to Flamethrower. Pangoro can just barely survive a Brave Bird from Talonflame, and can then finish it off with Rock Slide. * Elite Four Drasna (Pokémon League, Dragonmark Chamber, Dragon-type): Rock Dragalge's world with Earthquake. Druddigon is not viable; while it can beat it with two Dragon Claws it wouldn't survive the damage from Revenge and two shots of Rough Skin. Altaria is going to be causing too much damage with Moonblast while Noivern is too dangerous with Air Slash. * Elite Four Siebold (Pokémon League, Flood Chamber, Water-type): Clawitzer's hitting too hard with Aura Sphere. Pangoro can't handle Gyarados, mainly due to Intimidate dropping Pangoro to a 3HKO at best which the faster Gyarados matches. Starmie has a significant chance to OHKO with Dazzling Gleam. Two Low Sweeps or Bulldoze + Hammer Arm (gaining the Speed advantage is vital) will allow Pangoro to beat Barbaracle. * Champion Diantha (Pokémon League, Radiant Chamber): Hawlucha's Flying Press is a OHKO. Pangoro hammers Tyrantrum with Hammer Arm and even moreso against Aurorus. Payback is effective against Gourgeist. Goodra has Focus Blast and as inaccurate as it is, it's still not something Pangoro wants to deal with. Fighting Gardevoir would be a terrible idea; Moonblast kills Pangoro twice over and then some. * Post-Game: Pangoro does well against AZ and most other things. Just keep it away from Fairy types. Moves When caught, Pancham will have Tackle (passable), Leer (meh), Arm Thrust (any STAB in a storm right?) and if at level 10 Work Up (useful for now). At level 12 it learns Karate Chop which will typically be better than Arm Thrust. Comet Punch is at level 15; stronger than Tackle, but only for Iron Fist specimens, though the accuracy is discouraging. At level 20 it learns Slash; good if Return hasn't yet surpassed it. Level 25's Circle Throw and level 27's Vital Throw might be worth it; they have decreased priority but Pancham's pretty slow anyway. It evolves at level 32 and learns Body Slam at level 35, though Return is surely superior by now. Level 42's Crunch is situationally better than Payback, but only rarely. Its level-up movepool dries up by this point; Entrainment (45) is rarely useful, Parting Shot (48) is not worth letting Pangoro (most likely) take a hit, Sky Uppercut is inferior to the relearnable Hammer Arm (also learnable at level 57, and a staple of Pangoro), Taunt (65) fits poorly on a slow, directly attacking 'mon and Low Sweep (70) has long been available by TM by this point. Pangoro has a wide variety of TM moves: Bulldoze and Low Sweep for Speed manipulation, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Rock Tomb/Rock Slide/Stone Edge, Aerial Ace, Poison Jab and X-Scissor for coverage and Cut, Surf, Strength, Rock Smash and False Swipe for utility purposes. Recommended moveset: Hammer Arm, Payback, Bulldoze/Low Sweep and whichever of the TMs are needed at the moment Recommended Teammates * Poison-types: Poison types are effective at battling Pangoro's nemesis (Fairy types) while also resisting Fighting; meanwhile Pangoro protects them from Psychic types and is better equipped for fighting Ghost, Rock and Steel types. Bonus points to Poison types that lack a Flying weakness. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Tentacruel, Crobat, Dragalge, Arbok, Seviper * Special Attackers: While a force to be reckoned with in the physical sense, Pangoro fails to put up a fight on the Special front. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Ampharos, Espeon, Gardevoir, Clawitzer, Delphox Other Pancham's stats Pangoro's stats * What Nature do I want? Any nature that decreases its poor Special Attack or even poorer Speed are welcome. * Which ability do I want? Iron Fist. There aren't a lot of moves it boosts, but one of them is its main move, Hammer Arm. Plus, Mold Breaker rarely sees use. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Whenever it hits the appropriate level, which could be anywhere between the Tower of Mastery Rival fight and Aliana; if needed for the Ramos fight it does better unevolved. (Though it shouldn't be given how many counters for Grass there are...) * How good is the Pancham line in a Nuzlocke? Hella good. Great typing, great stats, it's just great. Pancham's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Flying, Psychic, Fairy * Resistances: Rock, Bug, Dark * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Ghost, Steel, Dragon, Psychic, Dark, Rock, Fairy, Poison, Ground, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice Pangoro's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Fighting, Flying, Fairy(x4) * Resistances: Rock, Ghost, Dark * Immunities: Psychic * Neutralities: Normal, Poison, Ground, Bug, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Dragon Category:X/Y